The Banyan
by mistakendragon815
Summary: Ben doesn't have OCD, it's just that he's in love. Bennie fic!


**Stuff: I'm a Benliet fan but I decided to do a Bennie because everyone has their one theories of what happened to her and I just wanted to express my own opinion...also, I wanted to place in a little easter egg in my story. See if you can find it hahaha.  
This is not smut. I do not write smut...this is just a angst/fluff piece  
WARNING: Character death, lots of Ben and mentioning's of an evil Australian. sadface, Alan Dale is so cool though :(. Anyway, read onwards :P**

"Are you going to see _him_ again, Ben?" Annie's eyes were reddened from tears that threatened to fall. She and Ben had gone on their 4th romantic date since he worked up the courage to ask her out last year. The other dates were just walking along the pylons or the occasional trip to the beach. Those too had been romantic, but Ben had only held her hand on extra special occasions and had only kissed her on the cheek when he said goodbye, never on the lips. Annie never asked him why, she just waited patiently for the right time and hoping it was soon.

The man in question scratched his 5 o'clock shadow lightly. "Tomorrow." Yes, the man of many words was Ben.

They had both grown up on the Island and both lead completely different lives even if they went to the same school. Annie had 2 loving parents, a loving and caring sense about her and a dream to work at the Hydra with all the animals. Ben, on the other hand had a drunk as a father, a somewhat individual attitude that he exclusively dropped for Annie when she was around and a secret revolution to destroy the Dharma Initiative with the Hostiles. The perfect couple.

Annie grabbed Ben's arm lightly but still did not allow her tears to fall. "Why are you doing this? Because of your dad? Because _he_ told you to?" Annie heaved a difficult sigh. The sun was too hot for a day like today. "Is it because of me?"

Ben looked up sharply at her offering. "No." He lifted up his free arm; the one Annie wasn't clutching, and stroked her cheek softly. His eyes were sombre as if regretting looking up into her beauty. They were both 21 now and Ben still couldn't believe he was with the most beautiful he believed was on the Island. Her long mouse brown her and sparkling blue shone in the strong afternoon Sun and made her look even more pretty. "I do love you Annie, and I promise nothing will ever happen to you.

"And his name is Richard." Annie didn't care what his name was. She had followed Ben one day out into the jungle and watched him critiquing with the Hostile. He seemed like a mannered man, too well mannered in fact, but she disliked him anyway when he noticed her and asked Ben if she was _one of them_. Ben confirmed but the older man seemed to ignore his answer and just glare at her as if she was an interesting specimen. "He swore to me he wouldn't let you get hurt."

"Why would I get hurt?" Ben looked away. His glasses caught the sunlight and gleamed. He had already said too much. "Ben, what's going to happen? What are you going to do?" Still he remained silent. "You're scaring me Ben. What are you going to do?"

Thankful that they were on the beach where no one seemed to go for some reason, Ben grabbed Annie by both her arms and kissed her passionately on the mouth. Annie didn't respond at first but allowed her feet to slide further through the sand and allow the grains to tickle her toes. Since she was old enough to appreciate Ben as a whole, Annie had wanted nothing more than to kiss him, and now suddenly her time had come, she had become completely paralysed.

Stirring her up, Ben poked his tongue into her mouth since she had become slack-jawed in shock and stroked her tongue. Annie shivered unconsciously and suddenly snapped back to reality. She readjusted her low-cut dress that sagged a little from the way she was sitting, got on her knee's and linked her arm's around Ben's neck to deepen the kiss.

Pushing aside his agenda a little deeper down in his mind for Annie, Ben smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time and slipped his left hand onto Annie's hip. It fell there comfortably and Annie seemed to grow goose bumps from their connection. Ben's other hand still rested on her cheek as he rubbed his thumb slowly in circles on the softly flesh.

He was so tempted to rip open her dresses blouse and caress her breast like he was doing with her tongue but stopped short and simply left his hand on her shoulder and subconsciously edging closer to her sternum ever so slightly.

They broke apart, out of breath, and hugged each other closely. Annie placed more energy in her embrace and toppled onto Ben whom fell backwards onto the sand. They laughed like kids again until Ben made her a promise. He brought her head forward as if to tell a secret. "I promise nothing will happen to you, Annie."

**~*~**

"No, leave him there." Richard gave a knowing nod and followed the rest of the Hostiles and helped clear away the Dharma Initiative. Ben listened to the grunts of the Hostiles lifting up the dead bodies and wondered where Annie was. She should be somewhere among the Hostiles. He was sure.

"Pickett?" A man with a strong build but a sort of overweight paunch turned to his new leader. "Have you seen Annie?" Pickett shook his head as a 'no'.

Richard swivelled alarmingly around to look at Ben who was frowning deeply. The man of the Island knew something to ex-workman didn't but he was too afraid to say what for Ben had developed a nasty reputation that he hoped would go away soon. Ben's life had become slightly disturbed when he met the rest of the Hostiles on his 28th birthday. A man named Charles Widmore rushed up to him and throttled him, swearing that he would kill Ben if he ever became leader. Richard immediately swung the older man off Ben, who now sported a bruised neck, and told Widmore that he had to go to the Orchid when the Purge happened so they could keep the Island safe from more Dharma folks. Widmore agreed after much persuasion but hated Ben nonetheless.

Widmore had never forgiven Ben for taking his place as leader and they both promised that they would kill each other if they ever saw each other again. _Game on_, thought Ben.

"Ben?" Richard sauntered up to Ben and scrunched his mask's band in his left hand to release some of his stress. "Follow me, please." The two men walked in silence past the dead bodies, upturn furniture and dying leaves until the came into view of a young looking woman. Her head was bent over her body with her beautiful brown hair falling down and around her knees. In her left hand was a gas mask and in her right was a photo. Ben sped up his pace a fraction, wondering if his fear had been confirmed. It hadn't. Richard also heaved a sigh of relief for he had only caught a glimpse of the girl (in his eyes, she was a girl) and thought she was dead.

Annie sat on the bench and looking at the picture in her hand. It was of her and Ben sitting against a banyan tree on the back of the beach. The spiky haired man had his trademark toothless grin, his arm slung lazily yet lovingly around her shoulder and his right knee bent. She sat beside him on his left side, the side closest to his heart, with both her arms around his waist for a hug and her head lay resting on his shoulder. Both looked so happy and Annie's wide smile just completed the picture. She missed those days. "Annie?"

The woman looked up with watery eyes but none had spilled, yet. "Why? Why did you, _we_ do this?"

"It was for the Island, Annie." Ben lowered himself next to his best friend and looked at her with his looming gaze. "For us."

Slightly sickened by what he stated, Annie looked away and her grip faltered on the photo. Quick as lightning, Ben placed his hand over Annie's to save the picture and brought them both to his mouth. He kissed her hand. "Everything will be ok."

The light brunette shifted closer to Ben and embraced him tightly, murmuring, "Promise me that, Ben."

**~*~**

"Stop! Wait, don't!" No one had heard him yell this loudly in years.

"Quiet, Ben! You look at me with your disgusting eyes and say that what you've done is fair?! Liar! And so you must be punished." The Australian man socked another punch at Ben's face, bruising it more and walked towards the lady who lay huddled in the corner. The man yanked her up by her hair and ordered in a silky voice, "Say your goodbyes, sweetheart."

Annie looked at Ben with sorrow-filled eyes, this time finally letting the tears fall and whispered, "I love you, Benjamin." A trigger was pulled and her heart began to bleed. The lady born as Annie did not leave the world ungracefully. She smiled at her love and collapsed on the floor with a light thud.

"Annie…"

Widmore looked across at Ben who had just spoken softly to himself and quirked a half smile. "Now you know not to change the rules again, Benjamin." Leaving with all dignity intact, the cruel Australian wiped his pistol and strode purposely out of the high rise New Zealand apartment without a second thought for his nemesis.

Meanwhile, Ben crouched down to his knees and half-hugged his old girlfriend but lifelong friend and turned her onto her back. She still had a ghost of a smile on her lips and her beauty still remained. Ben ran his hands down her arms as a tear fell down along his cheek and dropped silently on the pool on blood that stained Annie's jacket and top. Then, he noticed something.

He slipped his hand into her side coat pocket and retrieved a small worn out black-and-white photograph. It was of them by the banyan tree. He turned it over to read the message on the back that was written beside the date. _September 22, 1982. "I love you Benjamin. Annabelle."_

"Sorry, Annie."

**Other Stuff: Hope you fliclinites enjoyed my my story. Go on my profile to read some more Ben stories...more will be added soon though haha. Did you find my easter egg??? It'sok if you didn't. It's New Zealand (Shock, Horror!!! OMG!) o_O, anyway, do you guys remember when Sayid found Ben's secret room? Well, the passport he picked up read: _Dean Moriarty_ and it was a New Zealand passport too. Yes, just because I'm an Aussie doesn't mean I don't pick up on something that's of NZ origin  
Later Taters**


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